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I occasionally boot up a PowerBook G4 running Leopard - I think the last version to support PPC. It's had a battery replacement and an SSD installed but is stil

I occasionally boot up a PowerBook G4 running Leopard - I think the last version to support PPC. It's had a battery replacement and an SSD installed but is still quite slow (and hot after a while). But the screen and keyboard are nice and I think it'll last another 10+ years if I'm careful. Still, somewhere it pops up in web analytics as an outlier :)

reaperducer 9y ago
I might as well join the anecdote bandwagon. Currently operating in my household: - A 2003 iMac G4 (iLamp) acting as a audio media server - A 2004 17" PowerBook G4 that I use for long-form writing because the keyboard is just. so. comfortable. - A 2008 iPhone 3G (not 3GS) with a remote dock that plays music in the library. - A 2011 MacBook Air that I carry around in my bag and use almost every day. (Though the battery life is down to two hours.) - A 2012 iPhone 4 I just replaced the battery in. It pumps out music to the neighborhood AM radio station in my closet. - And finally, a launch day 2007 iPhone, which I don't use regularly, but keep in my desk drawer and turn on every once in a while for kicks, and to make sure it still works. Man, that screen is very hard to look at now after becoming accustomed to retina displays. On the other side of the coin, I can't seem to make an Airport last more than 18 months. Fortunately, there's a neverending supply of them for $5-$10 at Goodwill.
- classichasclass 9y ago
  The iMac G4 is a design landmark. Even though my 1GHz system is by far the slowest of my daily drivers, I just love using it because of the form factor (the arm on this 15" is still great, springs move well).
robin_reala 9y ago
What browser are you using? TenFourFox? Because if not you might want to grab a copy today as other browsers don’t support TLS1.2 and will stop being able to access the general web fairly rapidly. https://tenfourfox.blogspot.se/2018/02/the-tls-apocalypse-reaches-power-macs.html https://tenfourfox.blogspot.se/2018/02/the-tls-apocalypse-re...
- classichasclass 9y ago
  I just threw together a downloader to deal with this problem, which is offered over unencrypted HTTP. It embeds a current cURL with TLS 1.2 so that a Power Mac can still bootstrap itself and get TenFourFox. It's available on the main page now. Naturally a more secure approach is to use a computer that already has a current TenFourFox or other browser on it, but this at least gives people with no other options a way out. Barely two days after offering it there were 50+ downloads/day already through the Downloader, so there must be some subpopulation of Power Macs not already updated where their owners are starting to notice this.
classichasclass 9y ago
Leopard is indeed the last version to support PPC. My mother still uses an iBook G4 for Bible software (on Tiger). It keeps working for this purpose and it is not networked, and she has enough spare parts stockpiled, so it will probably keep running for years more.

reaperducer 9y ago

I might as well join the anecdote bandwagon. Currently operating in my household: - A 2003 iMac G4 (iLamp) acting as a audio media server - A 2004 17" PowerBook G4 that I use for long-form writing because the keyboard is just. so. comfortable. - A 2008 iPhone 3G (not 3GS) with a remote dock that plays music in the library. - A 2011 MacBook Air that I carry around in my bag and use almost every day. (Though the battery life is down to two hours.) - A 2012 iPhone 4 I just replaced the battery in. It pumps out music to the neighborhood AM radio station in my closet. - And finally, a launch day 2007 iPhone, which I don't use regularly, but keep in my desk drawer and turn on every once in a while for kicks, and to make sure it still works. Man, that screen is very hard to look at now after becoming accustomed to retina displays. On the other side of the coin, I can't seem to make an Airport last more than 18 months. Fortunately, there's a neverending supply of them for $5-$10 at Goodwill.

classichasclass 9y ago
The iMac G4 is a design landmark. Even though my 1GHz system is by far the slowest of my daily drivers, I just love using it because of the form factor (the arm on this 15" is still great, springs move well).

robin_reala 9y ago

What browser are you using? TenFourFox? Because if not you might want to grab a copy today as other browsers don’t support TLS1.2 and will stop being able to access the general web fairly rapidly. https://tenfourfox.blogspot.se/2018/02/the-tls-apocalypse-reaches-power-macs.html https://tenfourfox.blogspot.se/2018/02/the-tls-apocalypse-re...

classichasclass 9y ago
I just threw together a downloader to deal with this problem, which is offered over unencrypted HTTP. It embeds a current cURL with TLS 1.2 so that a Power Mac can still bootstrap itself and get TenFourFox. It's available on the main page now. Naturally a more secure approach is to use a computer that already has a current TenFourFox or other browser on it, but this at least gives people with no other options a way out. Barely two days after offering it there were 50+ downloads/day already through the Downloader, so there must be some subpopulation of Power Macs not already updated where their owners are starting to notice this.

classichasclass 9y ago

Leopard is indeed the last version to support PPC. My mother still uses an iBook G4 for Bible software (on Tiger). It keeps working for this purpose and it is not networked, and she has enough spare parts stockpiled, so it will probably keep running for years more.